Cinema and Desire Book Analysis - Essay Example

Introduction Visual media like television and cinema have been both entertaining and enlightening man for a long time since their inception. The influence, these casts on common people, is overwhelming and spontaneous. At the same time these mediums often create a hallucinatory sphere where men are beguiled into believing whatever films and television portray. A critical analysis of the book ‘Cinema and desire: feminist Marxism and cultural politics in the works of Dai’ bring out how much cinema is a reflector of reality and how much it is not. Understanding Cinema In reflection of what Marx has said about History in his book The holy family, or Critique of critical criticism (1844), Generic thinks it should be understood that “cinema doesnt make itself, cinema isnt made for itself, cinema is made by and for us. Films relation to the mass becomes a question of how to understand its situation as a medium capable of reaching many millions of people, potentially disparate in place and time.” (Generic. 2006). In today’s world, cinema is still one of the most influential medium to reach a large mass of people across the world. All the social, political, cultural and ideological issues which have, or could have created raves in the history of human beings are dealt from a common or unusual perspective in cinema. A section of people use this medium to express their ideas and beliefs on a particular topic which sometimes collide with the established school of thoughts, and sometimes greatly accepted. The underlying discussion on the above-mentioned book focuses specifically on the aspect of feminism in line with the perceptions of Karl Marx and Louis Althusser. Views of Marx Marx’s ideology of history being the struggle between classes is also applicable in the history of feminism. Women as a dominated class have struggled for identity and existence against the male class. They have fought for their freedom from patriarchal control, for their rights and privileges as independent human beings. Women have evolved through slavery to primitive communism- a term supposed to have introduced by Marx to indicate rights of an individual to basic resources and freedom from authoritarian rule and hierarchical social structure. The Marxist theory of feminism focuses on shattering of capitalism in order to emancipate women. The capitalist society, which largely values personal assets to demarcate the social position of an individual, is at the base of women’s oppression, according to Marxist feminism. Marx and Engel analyses that if the capitalist society, which works on ownership of property, is de-structured then the purpose of owning rights of women by men would also lose its importance. Division of labor, the indispensable feature of a capitalist society, forms the core of Marxism. Marx builds his theory of oppression, both male and female, on division of labor which implies enslavement and class distinction. Focusing specifically on oppression of women, it can be said that the Marxist feminists base their theory on the morality and immorality of this division which in itself is a form of subjugation. Prostitution, following this theory is a type of labor and thus is considered as obstructive to women’s liberty. Karl Marx claims that “prostitution is only a specific expression of the general prostitution of the laborer.” (Marxist Feminism. N.d). However, Pateman in ‘The Sexual Contract’ opposes Marx in this regard by saying that the prostitutes “are not wage laborers, but rather independent contractors.” (Marxist Feminism. N.d). In her opinion, the prostitutes can take themselves out of the business as and when they wish. She also correctly argues that Marxist feminism deny to associate any aesthetic or spiritual feeling in the prostitutes, many of whom join this trade out of own will. This theory of Marx has largely influenced cinema and television. The commercial and documentary films on prostitution look at the body trade from a degrading and exploitative point of view, and lower the image of the prostitutes in the eyes of society. Prostitution is a business just like any other business, and people involved in it are no different than workers in any other field. Yet Marxism, still seems to hold an influential corner in the minds of the majority of film-makers and television serial producers in focusing solely on the sympathetic side of the prostitutes and totally ignoring the fact that many of the prostitutes join the trade willingly out of financial need, and many, for making instant money. Views of Althusser According to Althusser’s theory of production, ‘reproduction of productive forces’ is essential for better production value. To quote Althusser, “The reproduction of productive forces is essentially the reproduction of labor power” (Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. N.d) which may be achieved by giving more wages to the laborers which will help them develop their skills and agree to follow “the rules of the established order” (Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. N.d). He also focuses on ‘reproduction of the relations of production’ to ensure better productivity, through the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs). The ISAs are a set of beliefs or ideologies specific to particular institutions like family, religion and culture. Althusser argued that class struggle mostly centre around the ISAs because the ruling class cannot form specific laws in this area “not only because the former ruling classes are able to retain strong positions there for a long time, but also because the resistance of the exploited classes is able to find means and occasions to express itself there, either by the utilization of their contradictions, or by conquering combat positions in them in struggle.” (Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. N.d) Author Sarah Gamble points out that according to Althusser, “every individual is ‘appointed as a subject’ within ideology by being ‘hailed’ in terms of the role that they are expected to adopt.” (Gamble. 2004. p.225). Women, in accordance to this theory, have been designated with some definite roles and a particular position in society, once they claim themselves as members of the class ‘women’. The re-defining of ideology by Althusser and his concept of interpellation, according to which “ideology addresses us in a certain role and draws us into a conspiracy that is ultimately aimed at ourselves…” (Bertens. Bertens. 2008. p.80) is certainly helpful in studying films where women are shown in the commonly accepted roles. According to Bertens and Bertens “Althusserian feminism examines how literary texts, films, commercial… ‘hail and interpellate’ their readers or their audience and ‘position’ them with regard to gender.” (Bertens. Bertens. 2008. p.80). The class ideology of women as being in a less influential and less powerful role directs themselves into thinking their status lower than that of men in the social hierarchy. Althusser’s view of necessity of subjugation of the subjected class to the accepted norms of society for the smooth working of the society and better productive value, influence the way, the women class is screened on television and cinema. Women, constituting the less powerful class due to male dominance, are hugely shown as the compromising group. They are always expected to obey the established norms and act according to the ruling ideology. TV channels telecast movies and programs having the content base of both domestic suffering women and protesting women. Where the first category of programs attract mass attention and adulation if it shows men ruling over women and the latter showing great power of patience and tolerance without protesting, the second category only gains critical acclamation by a group of few people who think for the rights of women. Analysis of ‘Cinema and desire: feminist Marxism and cultural politics… The Marxian tenet of proletarian revolution, a revolution on part of the dominated class to gain political recognition in order to establish itself as a liberated class and overthrow exploitation, can be identified with the women’s struggle. When after years of revolution, women are allowed freedom in the literal sense of the term, then it gives birth to the ‘new women’ who are completely in sync with their altered identity. But when suddenly women are given rights equal to that of men, then it results in cultural confusion and identity crisis. This is what Dai explores in her book under consideration, and its effect on cinema of the time. She observes that though the Marriage Law and other reformatory measures like equal pay, rights to give birth and abort a child, and right to vote, liberated women in China in1949, yet it actually subdued them more in expressing and affirming their sexuality. Apparently, all these new inclusions in the Chinese law, bestowed women a never-before freedom from years of patriarchy’s dominance and suppression. To quote Dai, “women emerged as a gender from obscurity and through great adversity ‘onto the horizon of history’, where finally they shared with men the same expansive possibilities.” (Dai. Wang. Barlow. 2002. p.100). Yet the social reforms failed to develop female consciousness about their own standing in the socio-political set up largely because the so-called liberation was the working of the ruling class and not the outcome of their revolution. Dai states, “The female cultural revolution that should originally have accompanied women’s de jure emancipation nevr made its arrival.” (Dai. Wang. Barlow. 2002. p.100). Cinema, as a popular medium of expression, also changed its outlook and content in line with women’s liberation post 1949 era. Primarily, cinema had depicted women mostly as a sexual commodity and an object of male desire. Following the surge of women’s liberty, cinema also made a role reversal of women. It suddenly became dry, inartistic portrayal of ideologies. Only after 1959, Chinese films developed a new and revolutionary language and created “a fusion of china’s left-wing cinema and the ideology of films produced in the first post 1949 era.” (Dai. Wang. Barlow. 2002. p.101). As women were removed from the ‘gaze of male desire’, they lost their position of being central in the plot of the film narrative. Women seemed to have lost their identity as they were no more distinguished as a distinct gender. Though, initially, the genre of the new classical revolutionary film dispelled women of their stereotypical role in harmony with the contemporary ideological changes, yet, in the long run, it reverted back to its previous temperament. Women were placed under the ‘gaze of authorities’ (male) after being removed from the ‘gaze of male desire’ and being the ‘object of male desire’. This, however, presented the same truth but in a new package, which for the time being assured women that they were being depicted in their new, free self. In the 1930s, women were shown in films as having no home to return to in case they revolted against the prevailing system. In the words of Dai, “Not only was the connection between a woman and her ‘family’- that is her father’s family- always already severed or shelved; hr class status was also signified and differentiated before the signification and differentiation of her gender status.” (Dai. Wang. Barlow. 2002. p. 107) In films like ‘Guan buzhu de chunguan’ and ‘Yaoyuan de ai’, the women protagonists do walk out on patriarchal family order in search of their own identity, but into oblivion. In this context, reference to the film ‘New Women’, based on the life story of a female screenwriter Ai Xia, may be drawn. In this film, the woman protagonist breaks free from the doom of patriarchal family and is supposedly liberated in her husband’s house, but ultimately realizes her captivity there also. She commits suicide when the actual truth dawns upon her- “she cannot escape being a toy of male desire”, (Dai. Wang. Barlow. 2002. p.109) wherever she might go. Several women in that age took up extreme measures to assert their femininity and individuality to a society which otherwise rejected and demeaned them in every possible way. The new reforms were meant to silence their growing urge of seeing themselves as equal to men in every respect, and kind of obliging them into accepting without question the standards of male behavior. So neither woman could assert her presence completely, nor could she accept whole-heartedly male dominance prevailing in her inner circle. Suffering from this internal conflict, women were torn between her family, considered as the fundamental unit of society, and her marriage, taken as the institution of establishment of familial values. A woman’s social status was still determined in respect of her role as a daughter, a wife, and a mother. Women discovered themselves burdened under these two ‘important’ institutions, and to quote Dai, “the familiar saying ‘carrying loads on both shoulders’ accurately depicts the image and burden of a generation of new Chinese women.” (Dai. Wang. Barlow. 2002. p.112). Films like ‘Song of Youth’ and ‘Qingchun zhi ge’ successfully screened narratives written from a feminist point of view, however women remained suppressed in most of the revolutionary and realistic films. False Consciousness and Visual Media Karl Marx’s theory of ‘false consciousness’ is based on the policy of distorted reality as presented by the privileged group to the underprivileged. Marx has largely criticized this strategy as being a tool in the hands of the capitalist class to secure and maintain their social and political supremacy on the working class. Daniel Little observes that Marx has asserted “that social mechanisms emerge in class society that systematically creates distortions, errors, and blind spots in the consciousness of the underclass.” (Little. N.d) He further states that “if these consciousness-shaping mechanisms did not exist, then the underclass, always a majority, would quickly overthrow the system of their domination.” (Little. N.d). Visual media, especially cinema, is highly effective in creating ‘false consciousnesses’ among its viewers. It deliberately distorts reality and project a partial view of a particular issue. In this regard, the role of television and films in upholding and maintaining the established ideology of male dominance in society needs special mention. The tendency of commercial and popular movies to depict women in the traditional role of a kind mother, a caring wife, or an obeying daughter, seem to hold out the message that women should always maintain these accepted social standards of behavior and never think of coming out of these shells. Men, along with women suffer from ‘false consciousness’ about women’s ideal role and position in society after watching these films. Most of the film makers are male, and thus supporters of patriarchy. The mold and distort the ideal and present only their personal viewpoint which, most of the time are in favor of patriarchal system. In the words of Dai, cultural traditions presents to the women ‘a city of mirrors’ which keeps on showing them how they are supposed to be. Films and television act as these ‘mirrors’ which instead of reflecting, hides their inner selves. Dr. Ghosh observes “It is evident that the conceptual practice of woman as a race does not always receive its due respect, honour, and proper position in society all over the world.Time and again male domination disrobes the honour of woman as a race and looking with the Marxist-feminist point of view the women are engaged with something like class struggle.” (Ghosh. N.d) Marxist view of ethics and visual media According to the orthodox Marxists, ethics “ are merely the reflection or representation of economic determinations, simply a transparent feature of the base/superstructure model.” (Brown. N.d). Ethics is something that cannot be put to scientific measurement because it depends on a person’s perspective towards different situation. Although an individual is highly affected by the conditions and surroundings he stays in, and accordingly his point of view is shaped. it can be asserted that though two persons living in the same surrounding may have the same mentality and ethical standard, but at the same time two persons may differ in their ethical standpoint. It may be observed that “For Marx, ethics and morality do exist scientifically, i.e., they exist both historically and materially. Marxs view of ethics is, in other words, an active expression of a materialism that holds the promise of emancipation.” (Brown. N.d). Television and cinema uphold the Marxist ethical standpoint. Most of the films and programs are class wise biased and project and maintain a specific ethical standard for different classes and genders. They maintain a strict value system, which differentiates the upper, middle, and lower class ethics and mentality. Their economic condition and profession mostly determine the wants, ambitions, and aspirations of the members of different classes. Althusserian influence in molding film theory The influence of Althusser can be highly felt in the post-modern cinema. According to D’amato “the influence of Althusser and the Structuralists on film theory has been to see not only films, but film theory itself, as a form of theoretical practice, and therefore a site of struggle to change society.”(D’amato. 1995). He further states that “not only does this overestimate the impact of films on society as a whole, it helped justify the retreat from the class struggle into the ivory tower of academia;” (D’amato. 1995). Since the post Marxist films had been enforcing and emphasizing the class struggle, whether between the working class and the capitalist class, or between women and patriarchy. Althusser’s redefining of Marxist ideologies as being different from strictly related to economic social super-structure to more of a less scientific set of ideas, helped in structuring the film which dealt more with intellect and acumen of the human brain than less with social structure. Conclusion The Marxist theories and ideologies, later evaluated by Althusser, have shaped and manipulated cinema and television through different ages and different countries. Be it the pre-modern socially inclined programs and films, or their intellectual counterparts in the modern days, Marxian, and Althusserian views have provided the necessary food for thought. Since the focus is on feminism here, and as it is analysed above, Marxist feminism has greatly controlled the way women are projected in the visual media even today. The major influence on Screen, and the major force behind ‘Screen Theory’, was undoubtedly Louis Althusser, his theory of ideology and his notion of interpellation. . 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